Her name was Pia. Pia Farrenkoft. If you believe what you read in the papers she was anywhere from 40-49, worked at Chrysler (or didn't), had a son...or didn't. She was estranged from her sister...estranged from her family...estranged from the neighbours...and if being dead for six years and nobody notices is a reliable indication she was estranged from life. Estranged from humanity. Found this week mummified (desiccated) in the back seat of her Jeep Liberty...garage closed and keys partially in the ignition. A highly probable suicide. Was she Eleanor Rigby "wearing the face that she kept in a jar by the door.."...one of the lonely people?...a thwarted lover?...a sad and forgotten Mom?...a difficult family member? A recluse? Hermit. Spinster. A businesswoman who gave up her life for a job only to have the job disappear in an instant?
Bits and pieces drift in slowly. Hard to separate facts from fiction. When I read the story the morning it broke I was mystified. Couldn't imagine how anyone in these days of extremely high technological connectivity could just disappear for 6 years and no one notice.
I can't skip my morning Facebook for a day without a half dozen phone calls.
Her bills, they report, were handled through auto-pay. According to the news she had $54,000 in her bank account in 2008. Was last seen employed and received a ticket for driving without insurance somewhere after September of that same year. Missed a court date in January of 2009 for the ticket. And then was never heard from or seen again. From six years the payments trickled out...everything on time....until the money was gone. Then the house fell into foreclosure.
Her neighbour's first assumed she was travelling...as she travelled for business extensively...then they assumed she had moved. They kept the small lawn cut...and after the house fell into foreclosure the foreclosure company would continue to maintain it.
If you don't pick up your mail in a timely fashion The Postal Service removes it and eventually everything is either Returned to Sender/Undeliveable or in the case of flyers and junk mail...eventually tossed. Then they just don't deliver to that address again until it is reactivated.
Six Years.
If this poor woman's short life teaches us nothing...let it teach us this:
We MUST look out for one another.
Care for each other.
Take five minutes and say hello to your neighbours.
If somebody new moves into your neighbourhood be the first to greet them...whether it is with a pie or an invitation for a cup of coffee or brunch.
Take the time to know your co-workers.
Care about other people.
Life is too short for familial estrangements.
Life is too short for hate or grudges.
Life is to short to isolate yourself.
Life is too short.
Spent this week dealing with some speed-bumps and doing a bit of soul searching of my own.
Experiencing some "technical difficulty" secondary to FRED.
Yeah, remember FRED?
Not to worry...not quite dead yet. Just really really inconvenienced.
Cranial space is, after all, decidedly finite and every bit of grey matter that is squidged about by FRED through the years creates some interesting and sometimes not-so-interesting side effects.
The most recent having the not-so-wonderful limits on my solo travel. So yeah...I spent a big part of the week having this horrid little pity party for myself...and then this morning I woke up and told myself to
"...Get up...Build a Damned Bridge...and Get the Hell over It!"
So looking into more "...better living through chemistry..." options with my doctor/neurologist/PT and trying to adjust my attitude. Which is at least 90% of the problem, so far.
After all...I am doing pretty good for someone who is heading into the sixth year past my "expiration date" :)
Looking forward to seeing Nicki tomorrow for a while (and watching Aiden thump and bump and kick things off her belly!)
Can't wait to meet Nicole's Mom (...we've talked on the phone...but it isn't the same) and planning a very very late Reception for the kids with a Wedding Cake while everyone is in town for Aiden's arrival!
Despite speed-bumps...life is still pretty damned good!
Afterword: Finished the edit/re-write on the second book in The Mindful Life:Zen Living trilogy and it is ready to release on the 22nd of March. Started the outline of the third and final manuscript this morning...while I was writing the dedication to my Dad: My Grandfather Who Raised Me...I also added three words at the end...
And for
"Pia"
